More Than Love
by Casey Munster
Summary: Lily/James one-shot. Light-hearted fic set the Halloween before Harry was born.


I trot down the stairs, cursing as I trip over Quidditch pads. "Damn it, James." I mutter. I enter the kitchen carefully, trying to spot him before he spots me. He grabs me from behind and spins me around for a kiss.

"'Ello, Evans."

I can't help but grin foolishly. "When are you going to stop calling me that?"

"When we're both old and wrinkly." He winks and takes something off of the counter. "Look, Lily! I made breakfast."

Oh no, not again_._ "That's wonderful, dear. I can't wait to taste it." Many people do not realize that my husband _can not_ cook. Every time he tries I normally end up with food poisoning. I can't bear to tell him that, though. He always gets so happy when I eat his meals.

He places the plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. Judging by the way they look, the eggs were not cooked enough and the bacon is badly burned. "I hope you like it. Erm, I'm not sure if the eggs are done."

I touch his arm and smile. "They look fine, James. Thank you."

~*~

Halloween is a few days away. I want to surprise him with something. My first stop will be Honeyduke's. James has always loved candy. I'm convinced that he (and Sirius) just never grew up.

I reach to open the door to the shop when it opens on its own and hits me.

"Oh! Merlin, I'm so sorry. Are you – Lily? What are you doing here?" Remus grabs me by the shoulders and frowns. "I'm really sorry, are you okay?"

I laugh and rub my nose. "Yes, Remus, I'm fine. I'm Halloween shopping."

He smiles knowingly. "Of course. Mind if I join you?"

"That would be wonderful! I don't really know what to get him. Just something…neat. A surprise."

He nods as we walk into Honeyduke's. "You look a little peaky. Are you sure you're all right?"

I giggle as I look at a display of edible Christmas ornaments. "Don't you think it's a bit early for these? Anyway, yes, I'm fine. James just cooked me breakfast this morning.

"Ah." Remus says knowingly. "That explains everything. How about these?" He holds up a rather large, chocolate jack-o-lantern.

"Won't it melt? We already have major warming spells all throughout the house. You know how bloody cold James gets during autumn and winter."

He hides a smile by turning away to put it down. "Of course. I didn't think of that." He pauses. "You know, you could always just let it melt and use it for other, more interesting, things."

I glare at him. "Remus John Lupin, absolutely not!" I look away smugly. "We don't need any more help in that department, thank you."

He snorts. "How about some chocoballs? Apparently the 'Special Halloween Chocoballs' have a 'mysterious orange filling'." He wrinkles his nose. "Hmm…The word 'mysterious' usually doesn't bode well with food."

"Very true." I mutter. "I don't really see anything here. Want to try Zonko's?"

A wicked gleam shines in his eyes. "Of course."

"Honestly, grown men aren't supposed to get so excited about a joke shop." He doesn't reply as we walk out of Honeyduke's and begin walking down the street to Zonko's.

Halfway there he asks curiously, "So, Lily, how are you enjoying the married life?"

"Nosy, aren't we?" I punch his arm good naturedly. "I've honestly never been this happy. It still amazes me that I ended up with _James_, you know? He's changed so much."

Remus smiles and holds the door to Zonko's open for me. "You have no idea how happy that makes me, Lily."

~*~

I never got James a present. Oh well. We went out to a Halloween party with Remus and Sirius. That was fun.

It's nearly midnight. James and I are curled up on the couch, under a blanket, of course.

"It's so cold in here." He whispers against my hair.

"No its not. You're just insane. I'm burning up."

"Of course you are. You're with me."

I elbow him in the stomach. "Watch that ego." I turn my head to look at him. "I love you."

He smiles and kisses my nose. "I know." We sit in comfortable silence for a long time. Then James says, "I want to start a family."

This catches me completely off-guard. I sit up and twist to get a good look at him. He's giving me the same look he gave me when he asked me to marry him. "Why now, James?"

"I…I'm not really sure. I've been thinking about it for a while. Don't you think it would be wonderful?"

"Of course, love, but…It's too dangerous to have a baby now."

He looks away.

"James, darling, look at me. I want to have a family with you. I just don't know if now's the right time."

He looks at me and touches my face gently. I know I just lost this discussion. "We may not have the chance to ever have a normal life, Lily. Maybe…maybe if we have a baby then you'll have something to remember me by if I don't make it."

"James, what makes you think that _you_ would die? I do as much for the Order as you do."

"That's just it, Lily!" He exclaims, sitting up suddenly. "With a baby you wouldn't do so much for the Order."

"I…wait, what? James, is this just some scheme to keep me out of the fighting?"

"It's not a scheme Lily. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

I sigh and put my face in my hands. "James, you can't be so protective of me. This war is just as important to me as it is to you."

"I know that! I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't want to get hurt either, James, but it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"What if I'm not willing to take that risk?"

"Then you'll just have to get over it." I lift my head to look him squarely in the eyes. "Please just don't ask me to give up the Order."

He searches my face, and then sighs. "Fine."

I rub the back of my neck. "Well, I guess if we step up the security on the house it could be a possibility. Add a few wards, you know?"

He nods. "Of course! Our baby will be the most protected kid in the world."

I lean over and plant a lingering kiss on his lips. "Well, I think I've made my decision. Shall we get started?"

He stands up abruptly, pulling out his wand. "Right. I'll start with the yard."

I groan and pull him back down onto the couch. "You moron, I didn't mean the security."

It takes a moment for that to sink in. He shoots me a wicked smile. "Ah, I see. Yes, we should definitely start on that at once."


End file.
